Madikizela-Mandela loses fraud appeal

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela lost her appeal against fraud convictions in a South African court today.

The controversial former wife of Nelson Mandela and broker Addy Moolman had sought leave to approach the Supreme Court of Appeal to challenge their convictions.

But High Court Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann, sitting in Pretoria, ruled that another court was unlikely to come to a different conclusion.

Madikizela-Mandela was originally convicted on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft and sentenced to five years in prison with one suspended. Moolman was convicted of 58 counts of fraud and 25 of theft and sentenced to seven years in prison with two years suspended.

However, last July the High Court dropped the theft charges on appeal, suspended the prison sentence for Madikizela-Mandela and reduced Moolman’s sentence to four years.

The fraud related to loans obtained on behalf of non-existent African National Congress Women’s League employees from Saambou Bank.

The loans were approved on the basis of letters signed by Madikizela-Mandela, the league’s president at the time, falsely stating that the applicants were employed by the league.

Judge Bertelsmann said it was improbable that Madikizela-Mandela would have signed the letters, as she claimed, without knowing their contents.

The judge said it was clear that Moolman had played a bigger role in the fraud than Madikizela-Mandela and that the discrepancy in their sentences was therefore justified.

Moolman, he said, had been driven by personal interest and greed.

Madikizela-Mandela’s role was much more passive and she did not gain any personal advantage from the crimes.

“Indeed, account must be taken of the fact that she did help poor people to obtain loans, however misguided and dishonest that action may have been,” Judge Bertelsmann said.